| Luciano Spalletti has now confirmed that Antonio Cassano will not play in a Roma jersey until he signs a new contract.
“The club has a project for the future and I will only use players who share that vision,” stated the Coach in today’s Press Conference.
Cassano has now recovered from an ankle injury, but he has not been included in the squad travelling to Messina for Sunday’s game and official confirmation arrived that it was a disciplinary decision.
“Antonio seemed physically fit in training and is fully recovered now, but this has nothing to do with why he wasn’t picked. Will he be left out until he signs a new contract? That is possible.”
The tug of war between the Italian international and Roma has been going on for over a year, but reached a head because he will be a free agent in the summer.
It’s believed the Giallorossi want him to pen a new contract or join Inter in January, whereas Cassano would prefer to wait until June and sign for Juventus.
The situation could, however, cost him his place in the 2006 World Cup squad, as Marcello Lippi warned that he “will not wait forever” and cannot call someone for international duty who is not playing at club level.
Meanwhile, the capital club faces a difficult trip to Sicily on Sunday afternoon, where they will take on struggling Messina.
“They have rediscovered their unity after a tough time in which everything was going wrong for them. I am concerned about taking on Zlatan Muslimovic, as I know this striker well and he can cause problems for opposition defences.”
Spalletti must do without the suspended Daniele De Rossi and Cristian Chivu, while Messina are missing Riccardo Zampagna and Ivica Iliev. However, the Sicilians finally won their first game of the season at Lecce last week with a brace from former Roma youngster Gaetano D’Agostino.
“D’Agostino scored two important goals to get his side out of trouble and is definitely a talent. Coppola and Massimo Donati are also key players, but we can win this match. It’s still possible we can aim for fourth place, although I prefer to set simple goals so that we can build our way to a long-term ambition.”
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